Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 56, 65 and 72 together.

The first national student accommodation strategy was launched in July 2017. It runs until 2024. The officials in the Department and I are developing a new strategy for student accommodation, which will be published this year. The strategy will align with the long-term student accommodation policy and methodology, which were approved by the Government in January.

The aim of the policy is to increase the supply of student accommodation and to examine alternative solutions that will remove accommodation as a barrier to higher education through increasing the supply of student accommodation and relieving pressure on the private rental sector; supporting balanced regional development and the technological university, TU, transformation agenda, and proposals for accommodation projects from the TUs are currently under assessment; enabling supply of new below-market rate accommodation for target cohorts; reducing cost of delivery of new purpose-built student accommodation through development of standardised design options for purpose-built student accommodation; promoting efficient use of existing building stock; examining commuting alternatives to accommodation close to campus; and continued support of the rent-a-room scheme, which Deputies call digs.

Engagement with a range of stakeholders has informed development of the approach and will continue as plans progress. The short-term activation programme has been progressing. It is currently supporting the development of circa 1,000 student beds with €100 million in funding, as I said, approved by the Government in quarter 1 of 2024. This short-term approach has been necessary in the context of the overall challenges faced and the inability of higher education institutions to progress developments with planning permission due to cost viability issues.

I will respond to some of the other issues raised by the Deputy as well.

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